“Keeping your Heel Behind You”
“What a title! What on earth does it mean?!?”
I was hoping that you would ask that. Let me explain.
“The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
is riches and honor and life.” (Proverbs 22:4, English Standard Version)
The word translated “reward” here is the Hebrew word that may be transliterated “ʿēqeḇ”. As Christine Roy Yoder points out, “‘Reward’ is related to the Hebrew word for ‘heel’ or ‘hind quarters’ and, like the English expression ‘on the heels of,’ it refers to the ends or consequences of something . . . .”[1]
So, here’s the deal: the verse is not primarily about riches, honor, and life. Those are the consequences of humility and reverence for the LORD. In fact, they are biproducts. What is the really important product and process are humility and fear of the LORD.
We all get out of sync sometimes. We all, at least occasionally, get focused on results to the exclusion (or, to say the least, to detriment) of the process. We all forget that good things usually come at the heels of good character. We all want to “get results.” Our society is very outcome driven. But outcome doesn’t come out of nothing. It comes from good processes and good character.
Of course, we can all think of bad things that happen to good people. The biblical proverbs, like all proverbs, speak of general truths. They are wonderful rules of thumb, not iron-clad promises. The human authors who wrote these proverbs down (as well as the God who is their ultimate Author) were well aware that things did not always work out well for the person with good, godly character. Such proverbs as the one recorded in Proverbs 16:8 reveal that much:
“Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.”
This proverb suggests that there are times and situations where righteousness does not lead to having a lot, and where injustice leads to great wealth. Nevertheless, it is better to have a little along with a godly character.
So, the process is not a mechanical do-this-and-you’ll-get-that approach to spirituality. Rather, humility and fear of the LORD are about character, about who we are. I am inclined to say that a person’s character is the process.
The question that I need to ask myself is this: Am I focused on the results or on the character that can produce, and generally does produce, the results? Turning this around and concentrating on the second half of the proverb—the riches, honor and life—is like turning around your foot 180 degrees and trying to walk straight.
I asked my wife, who is a nurse, what the medical term was for a person whose ankle is turned all the way around, so that the heel is facing forward. She did not hesitate with her reply. “You call that a broken ankle.”
[1] Christine Roy Yoder, Proverbs, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries (Nashville: Abingdon, 2009), 223.
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